Dear Victoria,
I will be officiating at my son’s wedding very soon and was hoping to get a better Hebraic understanding of the “rib that came out of Adam’s side.” Can you direct me to any reading or teaching you may have on this subject?
Jeff
Dear Jeff,
Congratulations on your son’s upcoming marriage!
The word rib in Hebrew is Tsela, and according to the Strong’s Concordance, the meaning has several dimensions. Besides meaning a curved rib, it also means an entire side or section of the body literally. It could be a beam, plank, door, leaf, or chamber. The word is derived from a similar form of the word, that is, Tsala and is used to demonstrate a limp as if one lacks balance and leans toward one side.
As in all Hebrew words, Tsela (rib) has deeper meanings than just a bone—a deeper meaning that isn’t translated in other languages. In essence, the Rabbis teach that God took a “chamber” or a side – you could even say a portion from Adam (man) and in so doing this would cause him to be bent to one side (curved) lacking and out of balance. When God brought the woman to Adam, he immediately recognized that she was the missing part of him. Without her, he limped along in life. Now as his wife, she stands by his side completing his lack. She causes him to stand upright and counterbalances him.
Tsela is likened to a major structural support.
With background knowledge of this word, we can see that the Hebrew language gives us a greater insight of understanding to a very complex concept of one becoming two then becoming one again!
Shalom,
Victoria
